One person has been killed and at least 26 injured after Russian forces unleashed a massive overnight drone and missile assault on Kyiv, officials said Friday, as Moscow dismissed calls for peace following a phone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Thick smoke hung over Ukraine’s capital after hours of air raid sirens, explosions, and the whine of air defense systems battling what Ukraine’s air force described as Russia’s largest drone attack to date.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched a staggering 550 drones and 11 missiles during the assault, with 72 drones reportedly penetrating Ukrainian defenses a record that surpassed the previous high of 537 drones launched just days earlier.
“The main target of the strikes was Kyiv,” Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram, as the city endured more than eight hours of air raid alarms.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the assault as one of the war’s most “blatantly significant and cynical” attacks and described a “difficult night without sleep.”
In a statement on Telegram, he linked the timing of the strikes to Putin’s refusal to consider ending the war following the call with Trump, saying it showed Russia’s lack of genuine interest in peace.
Zelensky urged Ukraine’s Western partners, particularly the United States, to increase pressure on Moscow through tougher sanctions and further support.
Emergency services shared video on social media showing firefighters battling blazes in several parts of Kyiv after drone debris and missile fragments ignited fires in residential areas, schools, vehicles, and other buildings.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, confirmed that emergency workers found one fatality in the rubble of a building in the Svyatoshynsky district.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the Polish consulate in Kyiv also sustained damage during the strikes.
Beyond Kyiv, Russian attacks struck multiple regions, including Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chernihiv. Ukrainian officials reported damage to railway infrastructure as well as fires across affected areas.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed responsibility for what it called a “massive strike,” portraying it as retaliation for alleged “terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime.”
Meanwhile, Russia reported its own casualties from Ukrainian attacks. The acting governor of Russia’s Rostov region said a woman was killed Friday night in a Ukrainian drone strike on a village near the border.
The escalating violence comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, with Moscow reiterating that its military campaign in Ukraine will continue until its objectives are achieved.